Joseph Clay (October 16, 1741 – November 15, 1804) was an American military officer and politician from Georgia. Born in England, he immigrated to the United States and in 1760 settled in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, he served on the local

council of safety In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection (also known as committees of observation), and committees of safety were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control ...

and was a delegate to the Georgia Provincial Congress in 1775. He was a major in the

Georgia Line The Georgia Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Georgia Line" referred to the quota of one infantry regiment which was assigned to Georgia at various times by the Continental Congress. The term also included the three infant ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

. He was appointed by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

as deputy paymaster general in Georgia with the rank of colonel on August 6, 1777. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1778, but did not attend. He died in 1804. He was the father of Joseph Clay Jr. and the grandfather of

William Henry Stiles William Henry Stiles (January 1, 1808 – December 20, 1865) was a United States Representative and lawyer from Georgia. He was the grandson of Joseph Clay. Biography Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1808, Stiles attended high school at the Hop ...

Henry Harford Cumming Henry Harford Cumming (1799–1866) was an important figure in antebellum Augusta, Georgia. His main business was in cotton but he also engaged J. Edgar Thomson to design the Augusta Canal, in order to run his mills and had started a law firm wi ...

, and Alfred Cumming.

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* 1741 births 1804 deaths American slave owners Continental Army officers from Georgia (U.S. state) People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub